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Notes:

Chris Brander is a former high school geek turned trendy Los Angeles music executive. When he gets stranded in his New Jersey home town due to bad weather with a superstar singer he is trying to sign, he finds himself reunited with his high school crush and discovers she is his true love.

PROFANITY: 7 S-words, 2 GD's, a number of others.SEX/NUDITY: Lots of sex talk and innuendo; same-sex kisses.VIOLENCE: Hard hits and falls, all played for laughs.DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Alcohol drinking, some by teens.ACTION: A hockey sequence.COMEDY: Lots of crude, suggestive verbal and physical humor.

Berardinelli, Internet CriticFull ReviewPoor After watching a movie like Just Friends, I hurry home from the theater and take a shower so I can wash away the stink of the experience. There are bad movies and annoying movies, and this one contains elements of both.

Roger EbertFull ReviewPoor The best scenes in "Just Friends" take place offscreen. If they were in the movie, they would involve the makeover of Chris, the hero.

USA TodayFull ReviewAbove Average The movie reminds me a little of 1991's Mystery Date in that the filmmakers have their twisted way of creating almost sick subsidiary characters and situations — all to offset a formulaic premise and low audience expectations.

Note: The rating
above is our interpretation of what the critic would give this movie based on
their review. We are not affiliated with these critic's in any way.

OPINION OVERVIEWThe following is the original "What's Worth
Watching" write-up for this movie.

Moviegoer Opinions:

Based on a theater exit polling of 219 moviegoers: Great Opinions! Certainly much better than what the critics indicated. With better than half of the opinions coming in "Fantastic" or "Excellent" and most of the remaining ones being "Very Good," it's certainly easy to HIGHLY RECOMMEND "JUST FRIENDS." Equally important to the very high opinions is the very low number of low opinions. This indicates a movie that has wide appeal and should satisfy virtually everyone. DON'T MISS IT!

Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) has it all - money, good looks and a flashy job as an LA music executive. But things weren't always this way for him…

Back in high school in New Jersey in the 1990's, Chris was shy, overweight and the butt of the cool crowd's jokes. The only bright spot in his life was his friendship with Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart) a super-popular cheerleader and the hottest girl in school. For four years, these two best buds were inseparable, save for the occasional jock boyfriend of Jamie's coming between them. But throughout high school, Chris was harboring a secret - he was hopelessly in love with his best friend, Jamie. On the night of their high school graduation, Chris finally works up his courage and makes his feelings known. In
response, a surprised Jamie tells Chris that she loves him…like a brother. She proceeds to give him the "Just Friends" speech, the most painful words known to man. Enraged and humiliated, Chris declares himself no longer friends with Jamie and storms off.

Ten years later, Chris has reinvented himself as a smooth talking lady-killer, living large in Los Angeles. Chris's boss, KC (Stephen Root), has just given him his most challenging job assignment yet - turning spoiled socialite, diva and magazine pin-up girl Samantha James (Anna Faris) into a pop-singing sensation. The well-known fact that Chris and Sam used to date, and that she still carries a torch for him, makes it all the more hellish. But what Chris doesn't realize is that his nightmare is just beginning.

The less than talented Sam doesn't feel she can "create" unless Chris whisks her off to Paris. En route, a plane malfunction causes them to make an unexpected pit-stop in New Jersey - the first time Chris has been back in 10 years. Chris takes the opportunity to drop in on his overly excitable mom (Julie Hagerty) and smart-aleck brother, Mike (Christopher Marquette). However, Chris' plans to only stay the night are detoured when he runs into Jamie Palamino working at the local bar. Suddenly faced with the chance to undo the past and "seal the deal" with the "just friends" girl of his dreams, Chris finds himself postponing Paris. This sets off a chain of events in which Chris tries to woo Jamie, all the while distracting the suspicious Samantha. Unbelievably, Chris is finding it more difficult to romance Jamie than it was 10 years ago.

The harder Chris tries, the deeper he finds himself entrenched in the 'friend zone,' the purgatory of dating where only platonic relationships flourish. When Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein), another 'just friends' guy from high school shows up, Chris' fate seems doomed. Can one escape the clutches of the 'friend zone?' Is it possible to go from 'just friend' to boyfriend? Chris is about to find out the hard way…